Bathurst 1000: Brodie Kostecki claims pole ahead of Broc Feeney for Bathurst

Series leader Brodie Kostecki dominated at Mount Panorama on Friday, and did so again in the top-10 shootout on Saturday, showing he’ll be hard to stop on in the great race.

Championship leader Brodie Kostecki’s bid for Supercars’ ultimate double prize took off when he unleashed a scorching top-10 shootout lap around Mount Panorama in his Erebus Motorsport “rocket ship” to claim pole position for Sunday’s Bathurst 1000.

The driver nicknamed “Bush” backed up from his stunning qualifying performance on Friday to produce a blistering 2:04.271 lap to smoke his rivals in a one-lap blitz of the iconic circuit.

Kostecki’s time was 0.483sec faster than Triple Eight’s young gun Broc Feeney and came despite making a mistake at the start of his lap when he ran wide at the exit of turn one.

The 25-year-old’s pole-winning margin was the biggest at Bathurst since Kiwi Greg Murphy’s famous ‘Lap of the Gods’ in 2003.

It was Kostecki’s first Bathurst pole position and his seventh pole for the year as he stepped up his quest for a Bathurst 1000 and championship double this year.

Sandown 500 winner Feeney will start on the front row alongside Kostecki on Sunday, while Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters and PremiAir Racing’s James Golding will start third and fourth on the grid.

Dick Johnson Racing’s Anton De Pasquale and defending Bathurst 1000 champion Shane van Gisbergen were fifth and sixth in the shootout.

Kostecki, who holds a 155-point lead in the Supercars’ drivers’ championship over Triple Eight rival van Gisbergen, thought his error was going to cost him pole but thanked his team for the “rocket ship” they gave him to attack the top of the mountain.

“I had a bit of a crappy start to the lap, the sun got in my eyes …. so I made a mistake and I had to make up for it,” Kostecki said.

“That little mistake I thought was going to cost me, but the car was awesome across the top. “I just threw it down the hill and I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to come out the other side. I was very happy to get through the Dipper there and I knew going down Conrod I was on a good lap, so I knew I just didn’t have to stuff it up.

“I had George (Commins, engineer) in my ear, even though he wasn’t saying anything, just in the back of my mind ‘Just finish it Bush’.

“There were some guys putting out some really fast laps, but I knew I had the best track advantage with the heat and the shade coming in across the top.

“Still a lot of pressure going out last … I am just very proud of the whole Coca-Cola Racing Team by Erebus, they have given me such a rocket ship.”

Kostecki has been the dominant driver since hitting the track on Thursday, topping the field in two practice sessions as well as Friday qualifying.

He has now taken three of the last five poles this season, but said his job was not done yet.

“I don’t really dream, I just know that I’ve got a job to do, ‘D-Russ’ (co-driver David Russell) has got a job to do as well,” Kostecki said.

“We have done a good job all weekend, the team has done a good job and we’ll just knuckle down … make sure you complete every lap and make sure you’re there for the last stint.”

Russell said the pair was still deciding who would start the race on Sunday and might be “flipping a coin”.

Kostecki dethroned Feeney in the shootout after the 20-year-old looked on target for pole.

The sixth driver out, Feeney had the benchmark with his 2:04.754 lap until Kostecki’s flyer.

Brodie Kostecki and David Russell will start at the front. CREDIT Mark Horsburgh/ EDGE PHOTOGRAPHICS

“I was pretty stoked with the lap to be honest, starting on the front row at Bathurst is pretty awesome,” said Feeney, who won his first endurance race at Sandown last month with his team boss Jamie Whincup.

“I thought I did a pretty good one and then Brodie made us all look silly.

“He has been quick all weekend, so I knew it was going to be real hard when it got to him, but we jumped up three spots (from qualifying), so I’m pretty pumped with that.

“I think I was more nervous watching those guys do it than I was doing the lap. I knew when it came to Brodie I thought he would get it and then he made the mistake at one and I saw the delta go up, but he clawed back real quick.

“It’s pretty nerve-wracking watching it, but there’s nothing you can do at that point, I was pretty stoked with what I did out there.”

Ford’s best Waters has now qualified in the top three for five consecutive Bathurst 1000s.

Waters said he could not extract any more speed from his Mustang in the shootout and he predicted race pace would still be a concern for the Mustangs.

“That’s been the story of the year, hasn’t it? Over a race distance we are nowhere,” Waters said.

“I still think we have got dramas and race pace dramas, so hopefully we have a bit of luck tomorrow … and something happens.”

Legendary inspiration behind Bathurst’s youngest challenger

As Dick Johnson Racing’s Kai Allen prepares for the biggest day of his life on Sunday he’s been given plenty of inspiration to do well from his hero and former Bathurst 1000 winner Scott McLaughlin.

In a situation most motorsport racers dream of the South Australian teenager, at 18, is making his debut at The Great Race and is the youngest to compete at Mount Panorama this year.

A budding star of the future, Allen has been given the opportunity after impressing in Super 2 and Super 3 in recent years and winning two national titles in karting as a junior.

He is competing with international driver Simona de Silvestro in the standout yellow wildcard car with the oldest and most famous team in Supercars on the grid.

“I’ve been dreaming of this since a young kid, so to be finally at Bathurst with such a historic team it’s pretty cool to get on the grid,” he told this masthead.

“I’m pumped for tomorrow (Sunday), it’s a 1000km long race and Simona and I are hoping to do our best.”

Kai Allen drives the Dick Johnson Racing Ford Mustang at Bathurst. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

And cheering him on will be former DJR driver and three-time Supercars champion McLaughlin, who is now racing in IndyCar for Penske Motorsport.

Allen said the New Zealander had been a great help already this weekend.

And he’ll be giving the new DJR young gun one final pep talk ahead of tackling the Mountain.

“Scott McLaughlin is probably my biggest inspiration, he’s such a good guy and even being part of the team that he used to race for is pretty cool.

“He gave me a call the other day to wish me all the best, which was unreal.

“He was really good, said ‘do your thing mate, go and have fun.’

“I’ll chat to him (again) tonight (Saturday) before the big event tomorrow.”

He also has seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Lowndes near him with the DJR wildcard sharing a pit boom with Lowndes’ wildcard team – SuperCheap Auto Racing.

It’s been a busy weekend for the teenager who is on double-duty, racing in Super 2 as well.

He’s competing with Eggleston Motorsport as he fights for the championship in the feeder category against fellow Bathurst 1000 competitor Zak Best.

McLaughlin has been a big inspiration for Allen. Picture: Brenton Edwards

But it has not worried the teenager, showing he’s a future star of the sport by also qualifying the DJR wildcard in 25th of the Bathurst 1000, showing he can handle the pressure.

The team is hoping to get a good result in the Bathurst 1000.

“Simona has been great, working really well together and making sure we tick every box and everything can run smoothly,” he said.

“It’s cool to get Simona back and she and I just want to keep the car clean, make sure we have a good race and no silly mistakes from our behalf and we run smoothly.

“If we do that we’ll hopefully get a good result.”

The Great Race starts at 11.15am on Sunday.

Originally published as Bathurst 1000: Brodie Kostecki claims pole ahead of Broc Feeney for Bathurst